Pillars of Eternity

Old genres don’t really die out. They just fall out of vogue and lie dormant, waiting for their time to come again. A new generation of gamers could rediscover it or older fans may decide to pour money into a project that brings back a piece of their childhood. Either way, a style of game you thought was forgotten has a way of coming back.

And that’s what’s happening with Pillars of Eternity, a Kickstarter-backed game that aims to bring back the Baldur’s Gate-style RPG of yesteryear. It’s a 2D isometric title where players control a band of adventurers and guide them through the fantasy world of Eora.

Players can choose either gender from among six races — Human, Godlike (altered humanoid), Orlan (a short furry species), aumaua (aquatic beings), dwarf and elf. Each race also has a subethnicities. For example, humans can come from meadows, savannas or the coastal and their appearance will reflect that. There’s also a choice of culture that fills in part of your character’s backstory and tweaks the starting gear. After that, there are 11 different classes with the standard barbarian, fighter, paladin, ranger, wizard, druid, monk, priest and rogue. The chanter is essentially a bard and the cipher is an interesting character that must use the soul of a target to use their attacks. It’s unusual and requires expert point-and-click dexterity.Continue Reading →